Niu FM Contract Signing
Jan 28, 2011

Whitireia and Pacific Radio Trust, who run Niu FM radio stations throughout New Zealand and the Pacific, signed a contract that saw the radio station’s newly expanded Wellington operation set up in the Whitireia Media Training Centre in Cuba Street, Wellington.

The Auckland based Pacific Media Network and Whitireia see synergies in working closely together now that the media training centre will be home to the Whitireia Journalism, Creative Writing and Publishing programmes along with the Radio Training School.  

The Media Training Centre is now the largest of its kind in New Zealand once it is open and fully operational.

A Contemporary New Identity for Whitireia
March 1,2011 

A contemporary new brand has been officially launched for Whitireia New Zealand. Designed by local Porirua design company Tangerine Design Limited, the new brand was developed to represent the communities of Whitireia as well as the considerable growth of Whitireia business and high academic success rates of graduates.

"The new Whitireia identity creates a strong, modern and contemporary image," said Stephen Tunley, Managing Director, Tangerine Design Limited.  “It was great working with Whitireia on the rebranding of its organisation and we feel we have come up with a new brand that is truly reflective of a dynamic polytechnic that has both a strong national and international focus and one that leads it sector – Whitireia New Zealand” he said.

The brand project achieved an outcome that is inclusive and local while showing the substance, scale and success of Whitireia as an international leader. 

The brand was officially launched at a function at Whitireia on Wednesday of this week, where the work completed by Tangerine was acknowledged along with the commitment of staff and businesses in presenting the new Whitireia identity. 

25th Anniversary Celebration
March 15,2011 

It was 25 years ago this week that Parumoana Community College was officially opened by Governor General Sir Paul Reeves as a tertiary education institute.  It was a significant launch of an initiative to change the social outcomes for the area. Photographs documenting the event show MPs, cultural and community leaders in a large Pōwhiri , on bare reclaimed ground, surrounded by building frames of classrooms being erected, trades people busy on the job.

The first year opened with 48 nursing students and 60 secretarial students studying on the Porirua Campus, on the edge of Parumoana harbour.

The vision was to provide academic qualifications and career pathways to students from the larger Porirua basin.

The first Principal was Turoa Royal. Deirdre Dale and Don Campbell followed as Chief Executives of Whitireia Community Polytechnic, which rebranded as Whitireia New Zealand in 2010. The polytechnic is well known for its culturally diverse student body and strong connections to cultural communities. The Whitireia Performing Arts group is in demand from international festivals year round. The diversity of the student body has grown since 2000 with an international focus. Whitireia is one of three New Zealand polytechnics that have a large role in this market.

Opening of Media Training Centre
May 10,2011  

The Whitireia New Zealand Media Training Centre will be officially opened in Wellington this week by the Minister of Tertiary Education Hon Steven Joyce.

The new Media Training Centre, in the former Wellington Workingmen’s Club building in the Cuba precinct, will be a one-stop shop for all Whitireia media teaching elements.  Recording studios, production suites and other media related activities have been brought into one location to provide state-of-the-art facilities for students studying Journalism, Radio, Writing or Publishing programmes at Whitireia.  

The last four years have seen significant growth in the quality and range of programmes taught and the centre will cater for over 200 full-time students in the media disciplines of Journalism, Publishing, Writing and Radio.

Strategic Alliance with WelTec

Students and industry will both benefit from a proposal announced today by Whitireia Community Polytechnic (Whitireia) and Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec). They propose to form a Strategic Partnership, including a Combined Council to govern both Institutions.

Chair of both Councils, Roger Sowry, said that the proposal is innovative and a first for the tertiary education sector in New Zealand. It will draw on the strengths of both Institutions to give students easier access to a diverse range of programmes; create distinctive, new Centres of Excellence that work closely with industry; provide a single strategic overview of, and stronger voice for, vocational tertiary education; and be a one-stop shop for industry in the greater Wellington region.